Lakshmi Puja: Worshiping the Goddess of Wealth

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• Oct 16, 2024 | Sampreeti Bhuyan

Lakshmi Puja is celebrated with great enthusiasm across the country, as devotees await the presence of Goddess Lakshmi to grace their homes. 

Digital Desk: Lakshmi Puja or Lokhi Pujo is a festival celebrated across India by the Hindus to worship the Goddess of Wealth, Lakshmi. This auspicious occasion is observed to welcome the Goddess, as she is believed to visit her devotees to shower her blessings upon them.  And to greet her with utmost love and warmth people clean and light up their houses and prepare offerings to grace her presence. They say if the Goddess is happy during her visit then she would bless them with health and prosperity.

Across different states this puja is observed during different time span. In north India it is celebrated during Diwali, the festival of lights, while in Bengal, Assam and Odisha it is celebrated 5 days after Durga Puja's Vijaya Dashami on the very next full moon day.

The Goddess Lakshmi is often said to represent herself sitting on a blooming lotus, an emblem of purity and abundance, with a gentle smile. At other times, she is represented with two elephants showering her with gushes of water, signifying prosperity and fertility. She is also said to arrive on her vehicle-that is, the white owl, which is regarded as an emblem of wisdom and prescience.